Our mission is to provide the ultimate founder support.
PART ONE
How it all started
In 2019, CEO coach Dave Bailey started running group coaching programs for CEOs of scaling tech companies. His programs started receiving hundreds of applications… and it became clear why.
Once companies hit the growth phase, support for founders drops off a cliff. The number of challenges increases exponentially, and at the same time, far fewer people can relate.
Given the limited number of people that can help and large number of CEOs in need of support, Dave started Founder Coach® as a coaching network that harnesses the experience and potential of each of its members.
“We see founder coaching as its own discipline.”
Dave Bailey, CEO of Founder Coach®
PART TWO
Our higher purpose
Leadership is scientific; you can measure it, run experiments, figure out what works. Leadership is artistic; it’s about storytelling, finesse, creating something out of nothing.
However, we think of leadership as a craft; a practice learned by doing, inspired by others one step ahead, and honed over the course of a lifetime.
“Our purpose is to advance the craft of founder leadership.”
We see founders as craftspeople, working day-in and day-out on mastering their ability to lead and manage others. The craft is deeply practical, highly thoughtful, and constantly improving.
Founder Coach® shares its purpose with every founder working to advance their own craft, and with every coach that aims to support them.
Dave started coaching CEOs in 2016 after building three venture-backed businesses.
Dave travelled the world to speak to groups of growth-stage CEOs and support local ecosystems.
Dave's first coaching programs for groups of CEOs began in 2019.
Many coaching formats are possible when you get a high-quality group together.
After Founder Coach began in 2021, we started to grow a network of experienced founder coaches.
The 2022 Founder Coach Unconference brought together founder coaches from around the world.
Dave continues to speak with founder coaches around the world and champion the category.
Core Beliefs
Our coaching approach is different because we hold a number of beliefs that our competitors don’t.
Coaching and mentorship are complementary
Some radical coaches believe mentorship and coaching can’t co-exist. We believe the opposite—and that founder coaches should come with domain knowledge to provide the support founders want.
Peer coaching is only as good as your peers
Peer coaching is powerful when you can learn from the successes and failures of others. However, it can fail when your peers aren’t quite at your level. That’s why we take group curation so seriously.
Founder coaching and exec coaching are different
Every coach who works with founders and non-founders can sense the difference. Founder Coach® goes beyond generic coaching frameworks to understand and address the unique challenges founders face.
Coaching is a network-driven business
The value of working with an experienced coach lies in the knowledge they gain working with other clients. Founder Coach® is built to create and capture this Knowledge Network Effect.
Team
Who's behind Founder Coach®?
Founder Coach® was started in 2021 by CEO coach Dave Bailey and Lorena Morais to expand the impact of founder coaching globally.
Today, Founder Coach® works along side an extended team of experienced coaches, facilitators, instructional designers, developers, editors and advisors.
APPLICATIONS OPEN
Apply to join our next intake
Given we’re receiving a large number of applications, we recommend applying early. Application deadline is April 5th, 2024.
Apply now